Challenges of Going Vegan #1: Vegan Food Looks Gross!

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ap·pe·tiz·ing

ˈapəˌtīziNG/

adj

stimulating one’s appetite.

-Google

Challenge#1: Vegan food looks unappealing.

My mother taught me to never use the words Gross or Nasty to describe food. For the title of this post Mom, “I am sorry.” To the rest of the world trying to decide whether or not to go vegan….I get it. When I initially started tinkering with the idea, I immediately went to Instagram and followed the vegans I saw.

At first, all I would see were smoothies and Buddha Bowls full of raw and unseasoned vegetables. That quickly became the face of the Vegan Diet for me.

For a person like myself who loves vegetables, that’s not horrible. For a person like my husband who likes all things fried and hates most vegetables…it looked like a nightmare. A nightmare that you have to eat…in slow motion. AAack!

Research, Research and then… Research again!

I decided to research common versions of recipes that I liked. YouTube and Pinterest were my main forums. I used Pinterest create and save what I found. You can find them under my profile (kashandmike) Kash+Mike on Pinterest. To begin, I simply added the word “Vegan” to my search. So “Pizza” became “Vegan Pizza” and so on. I did this to understand the principles of eating vegan, beyond the concept of no animal products. I also researched “Clean eating” and “Whole 30.” This gave me a more rounded out view.

I learned one thing quickly- Most of us already consume vegan dishes or dishes that can easily be converted.

Guacamole and Chips-Vegan

Fries and Ketchup-Vegan

Rice-Vegan

Peanut Butter Jelly Sandwich- Vegan

Almond Milk-Vegan

Spring Rolls-Vegaaaaaaan

Chex Rice Cereal- Vegan

Baked Yams-Vegan

Easily Converted Dishes:

Chili

Fried Rice

Salad

Soups

Pancakes

Burritos

Tacos

Spaghetti

Brownies

Go Time!

With this knowledge, I felt more equipped to begin. It meant that I could tweak my grocery list instead of completely revamping it. I should mention that before I committed to the idea, I began taking meat out of certain dished that I normally cooked to see if they would still be satisfying. I was pleasantly surprised. I took into account texture and flavor when I cooked. We ate spring rolls and pineapple fried rice, Thai Coconut Soup, Burrito Bowls with Crispy Plantains. When I made a vegan burger, I treated it like a regular burger. I made sure to compensate for the saltiness of the cheese by adding sauce or avocados. Here are a few of the dishes that we ate. What do you think? Do they fit your perception of Vegan?

I should mention that before I committed to the idea, I began taking meat out of certain dishes that I normally cooked to see if they would still be satisfying. I was pleasantly surprised.

What did we eat?

I took into account texture and flavor when I cooked. We ate Crunchy Spring Rolls and Pineapple Fried Rice, Thai Coconut Soup, Burrito Bowls with Crispy Plantains. When I made a vegan burger, I treated it like a regular burger. I made sure to compensate for the saltiness of the cheese by adding sauce or avocados. I hooked up those toppings! That’s what you have to do.

You gotta put your stamp on what you eat. Whenever you see someone else’s recipe, don’t feel restricted. Remember, a recipe is a guideline and not, a rule. Go ahead, play with it. Make it your own! Here are a few of the dishes that we ate. What do you think? Do they fit your perception of Vegan?

Want more proof? Check out the Vegan recipes found here: Vegan Richa They do a great job of creating down to earth dishes we can all get with!